Pros:

Cons:

As a brand new game, it was hard not to be impressed by the look of last year's title. Making stunning use of the impressive Ego engine also used in the Dirt series, it set a new benchmark for eye candy in a driving game. This year's game uses the same engine, and there don't appear to be any improvements at all; in fact, many of the post-processing effects from last year have been toned right back, leading to a cleaner yet plainer overall look. The car's cockpits are now faithful recreations of the button-laden originals used by each team, but only a three switches out of the dozen or so actually do anything to the car. Drivers are also saddled with the world's worst rear view mirrors, which should come with a label stating "Objects further than 50 inches away may appear invisible". Overall it's still a very attractive experience; it's just not quite as retina-stroking as the original. At least the roar of the F1 engines, each sounding like a room full of tortured Banshees, is as pleasing as ever.

Being a simmer I chose to play the game with all driving aids disabled, and the car handling remained satisfying yet simple. Hardcore simmers looking for another iRacing or rFactor alternative won't find what they're looking for here, even though each vehicle is now endowed with more weight, and cars also enjoy getting their rear end loose more often. Recovery is usually as simple as breathing off the gas, though more dramatic spins require a healthy dose of countersteer. The inclusion of the new DRS (Drag Reduction System) and KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is a fantastic addition, giving each car not one but two turbo buttons. The use of these gadgets could be better explained, as newcomers will be left in the dark about when DRS can actually be activated. Force feedback remains pre-canned, unlike the dynamic bumps and jerks of iRacing, but overall the driving is a very satisfying drive that occupies the vast middle ground between Ridge Racer and Grand Prix Legends.

"Getting rear-ended by the AI is extremely common, which probably explains why the cars are built from titanium."

AI and car damage are supposedly improved in this year's outing, but these are the two areas of the game that I take most issue with, and their issues are probably related. AI drivers are now apparently more aggressive, but I could not persuade them to leave the driving line under most circumstances; if I was slower than them they'd simply repeatedly ram me. Getting rear-ended by the AI is extremely common, which probably explains why the cars are built from titanium. Plowing directly into a wall at light speed results in a busted front wing, while the rest of the car is miraculously untouched. It's a far cry from the brittle, fragile creatures that these cars are in the real world. The rough housing AI combined with the unbreakable damage modeling results in a wonderful simulation... of bumper cars. Inevitably players take advantage of this, and overtaking is better described as colliding while passing. If we had any faith in Codemaster's ability to patch the game we'd hope these two areas could be tweaked after launch, but given the company's dismal track record with F1 2010 (just one patch was released, and it added more problems) we're not holding our breath. At least the AI now suffers from tire wear and fuel burn, and also clocks real qualifying laps.

"...the co-op mode is darn good fun, and is the perfect way to spend a few weeks online with a fellow F1 friend."

Another nice AI feature is the ability to add AI cars to a multiplayer race, filling out the field when you don't have a full grid of friends. The inclusion of a two player co-op mode sounded promising, but it's really just an online multiplayer grand prix with two players. Apparently you can both fight to become the preferred driver in the team and get better R&D upgrades, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly how this works six hours into a co-op campaign. Regardless of its simplicity, the co-op mode is darn good fun, and is the perfect way to spend a few weeks online with a fellow F1 friend.

Racing in the rain is as stunning as it is stressful.

While last year's effort truly took my breath away, I can't shake the feeling that this year's effort is more of an engine tune up than a complete rebuild. It still remains the number one F1 game on the market, but that's more about the lack of any competition than the game pushing the boundaries of last year's winning entrant.

Spy Guy says: It's not quite NASCAR, but there's a lot to be said for the complexities of having to turn both left AND right. Sounds like I'm probably better off with a modded version of last year's game though - are you going to take the F1 plunge?